Hybrid
by Mariadoria
Summary: Harry Potter can't die. Skynet takes advantage of this, stripping his magic and using him as a test subject for a conversion procedure for rebel fighters. This goes on until Harry manages to escape in the time machine. He ends up in a garage, surrounded by three people. Well, two humans people and one Terminator.
1. Chapter 1

His life was torture.

Every day, the machines came and tried something new on him. They took out his bone and replaced it with metal. One day, they chopped off his arm and attached a robotic one its place. The pain was unbearable. And every time, every blasted time, his body healed up again, ready for the next round. Betraying his thoughts. Betraying his greatest wish, which was now to die.

That was the one thing he could not do. Ever since he picked up the Deathly Hallows, gathered them as one. No matter what happened, he always regenerated. It didn't matter if he was burned or exploded or stabbed. It took a long time, and that long time was just agony. The only thing that he, Harry Potter, knew now was pain, despair and a burning desire to escape the Hell he was trapped in.

Even if he escaped, he didn't know what he would do. Didn't know where he would go. Whether he would survive the war waging outside, between the humans and the machines. Whatever was out there, though, was better than than where he was currently, even if it was just by a tiny margin.

Now, Harry lay on the table, his eyes closed, breathing deeply and blocking out the pain. No matter how much they changed him, nor how much his body adapted to the metal now inside it, the pain never became any better. The machines had just done the worst experiment yet. Most of his insides were replaced by metal now. He was more machine than human. It seemed that Skynet had finally happened upon a design where Harry would be used as a base for other humans who were captured.

His magic had been all but stripped from his body, stolen and used as a power source for something. It was so weak that Harry couldn't even produce a spark of light. Harry screamed out in anguish, still mourning for his friends and family, who were slaughtered in front of him so many years ago. His arms lashed out, the chains that held him rattling fruitlessly. They were made of some super strong metal, so strong it was hopeless to even try breaking it. And, oh boy, had he tried.

Suddenly, the door slid open with a hiss. Two terminators marched in, red eyes training on him. Harry stared defiantly back. In silence, they snapped the chains and escorted him out of the room, through the familiar hallways, terminators patrolling with massive plasma weapons.

To his left, there was a door, slightly ajar, with a blue light blazing inside. His curiosity was peaked. Maybe it was a way out. He would have to make a break for it right now, if that was the case.

Without warning, Harry rammed himself into the terminator on the left. Due to the changes forced upon him, he was now a lot stronger than previously. That was one upside, even though he would rather be completely human right now. The terminator staggered, which was enough of a window for Harry to slip past into the room and jam the door shut. It would take them a minute or so to get through. That minute could be the difference between life and...not death.

What Harry saw in front of his was the most glorious sight he'd seen in all his life. It was the time machine that he'd managed to catch wind of. With no idea how it worked, Harry rushed up to the control console thing and began mashing buttons, hyper aware of the terminators banging on the door. Thirty seconds left.

To his great surprise, the machine began to fire up. With inhuman speed, Harry sprinted over and put himself in the middle of it, hoping against hope that he was doing it right. If he wasn't, he was as good as dead, considering that he couldn't die. Skynet wasn't exactly lenient.

The blue light intensified, and just as the terminators burst through the door, Harry was gone, leaving nothing but a sparking machine behind.

* * *

 _Popped into my head. Going to see where it goes._

 _Sincerely  
Mariadoria_


	2. Chapter 2

The lightning from the machine surged around Harry's body, making him feel like he was being lit on fire a hundred times over. The pain, however, was nothing compared to the agony that Skynet put him through. Electricity, sparking blue and white, rippled over his skin, blisters bubbling and skin sizzling. It was nothing that wouldn't heal, of course, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt like a bitch. The pain was nothing next to his elation, though. He was away. He was finally away from that monstrous AI who tortured him day and night. The feeling of freedom, so unfamiliar, still took a while to register in his cybernetic brain.

Suddenly, Harry dropped several feet onto hard concrete. The change was so abrupt that he gasped out in shock and mild pain. After the sizzling electricity, the cold air of where he had landed was a welcome change. He staggered to his feet, taking a few wobbling steps to the wall, which he leaned against. When his eyes adjusted, he was able to see that he had landed in a cupboard, full of mouldy mops and chipped brooms. He blinked once and, 'thanks' to his new eyes, could see through the walls. The cupboard ran off a garage. A beat up station wagon with a dusty windscreen and wooden paneling was parked on one side. Benches filled with all manner of tools lined the walls. Thanks to the parts that Skynet had put inside him, he was easily able to identify all of them. He closed his eyes, and if he still had tear ducts, his cheeks would be soaking.

Putting the pity behind him, Harry managed to find a tattered pair of denim jeans. He pulled them on and rolled up the ankles, so he didn't trip over the hems at a future date. At one point, the malevolent AI had tried to make him taller, a more imposing height. That particular experiment had failed catastrophically, leading to Harry being labeled as an, 'inconspicuous infiltrator unit, to easily gain trust.' All the plans of his so called 'upgrades' were left with Skynet and years ago, he would have felt guilty for leaving them there with the slight possibility that others may be subjected to his fate. Now, though, he didn't care. That's what years of torture did to you.

Cautiously, Harry opened the door, only to feel his heart drop as he was greeted with the terrifying sight of a T-800 Terminator. He scrambled back, eyes wide. He could see the ruthless machine scanning him, even though the it was covered with skin. The Terminator raised the shotgun to his head, and before he could do anything, think anything, say anything, everything went black.

* * *

Sarah Connor, still awake despite the exhaustion weighing her down, jumped at the boom of a shotgun blast. In the car, her son John bolted upright. Sarah sprinted over to where the gunshot had come from, the room where the Terminator was standing guard. The sight of it still filled her with inescapable dread, but now wasn't the time to wallow in self pity. She didn't do that anymore.

"What the fuck is going on here?" she demanded, rounding the corner. On the floor was a short man with black hair. Or, he looked like a man at first glance. Squinting her eyes, she saw mechanical parts underneath the skin. Immediately, she glared at the machine. It was just another attempt from Skynet to get to them.

"An unidentified model of terminator came out of the closet," stated the Terminator, in his monotone voice.

"The closet?" sniggered John, having appeared beside Sarah. "That's a first."

"Kill it. I don't want it around."

The machine on the ground suddenly gasped, gulping in air. The skin on its head slowly began healing. "Please, don't do that again. It bloody hurts."

The Terminator fired once more. The machine slumped over once again, half the skin on its face blown away. Sarah crept forward, trying to get a better look at it. Something about it seemed...different. And then she saw it, something that made her recoil in shock and disgust.

The machine had a brain.

* * *

 _And, I am back. This is a side story, so don't expect frequent updates. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this, short as it is. I'm not planning to make the story long, and I also have no idea what's going to happen next_

 _Sincerely  
Mariadoria_


	3. Chapter 3

Harry groaned and peeled his eyes open once again. No matter how many times he was shot, it never hurt any less. He took in three figures in front of him, the machine parts of him analysing them immediately. One of them, a T-800 terminator, was still pointing the shot-gun at him. The second was a tough, lean looking woman with long brown hair and hardened eyes. Clearly, she'd seen things or gone through something no human being should have to. She was standing with a terminator, though, so that was explanation enough. The last figure was a small boy, who looked to be around ten. He shared some of the woman's features, so it wasn't a leap to assume that they were related. Mother and son, perhaps? Aunt and niece?

"What the fuck are you?" demanded the woman, kicking him in the torso. Harry grunted in pain, the kick winding him. Well, they knew he was awake, that's for sure. "How did you get a human brain? Who did you kill to get it?" Harry tried to get up, but was kicked down again. Gees, this woman really pulled no punches.

"Would you like me to shoot again?" asked the Terminator, finger resting on the trigger, stock still.

"Nah, wait a minute," said the boy. He walked up to Harry and knelt down. "You're a terminator, right?"

"Don't ask it questions, John," hissed the woman. "Get away from it." So the boy was called John. That was at least a start. Huh. He shared the same first name as John Connor, the leader of the resistance in the future. Surely, it wasn't a coincidence.

"Are you John Connor?" wheezed Harry. "Please tell me you're John Connor."

"Yeah?" John said cautiously, now beginning to sport the same expression as his mother. Shit. There went his only possible ally. Time to do something that would get them to trust him. Surely, there was something. If he wracked his brains hard enough.

"What are you here for?" demanded the woman, who Harry now realised was Sarah Connor, mother to John and the reason that humans survived. Not that there was much to survive for. If the machines were ever defeated, all that was left was a nuclear wasteland not fit to live in. It would be an awful, barren existence with no fun involved at all.

"Escaping," Harry croaked. "I was escaping from Skynet."

"Why would a Terminator need to escape from Skynet?" asked Sarah incredulously.

"Not a terminator. I was captured and experimented on." He grimaced. "I was the perfect little lab rat. You know that when I was there, my biggest desire was to die? But I can't. I can't fucking die. I always come back. Do you know how painful that is?"

John raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, you can't die?"

"You just shot me twice, and I healed. Isn't it obvious? I. Can't. Die. No matter what I do, I always come back. It drives me insane."

"It's some technology, can't you tell?" John ignored his mother and offered Harry a hand. Sarah's voice became dangerously low. "Get away from it. John, come back here right now."

"It's alright. I think he's friendly." Cautiously, Harry took the extended hand.

Unfortunately, something stirred under his skin and sparked out the second his skin met John's, it lashed out. Harry was sent careening back into the wall, while Sarah and John were sent flying through the air. Usually, Harry would be worried. Not now, though.

Because, through some miracle, his magic had returned.

And he was going to use it to gain revenge on Skynet.

* * *

 _Here's the new chapter. Hope you enjoyed._

 _Sincerely,  
Mariadoria_


	4. Chapter 4

The first thing that Harry Potter saw and felt after launching John Connor across the room was a shotgun blast to the head.

For the third time.

It was getting very frustrating now. As per usual (the fact that he was getting used to the effects of being shot in the head was a mite worrying) his vision blacked out, his mind losing consciousness, unaware of the pain. Even though he wasn't aware of anything when he blacked out, as per most people, when he was awake he considered it bliss.

A few minutes later, he woke, the familiar feeling of his flesh knitting itself together making him groan. But then, he stopped groaning and began smiling. This smile was one that would make Voldemort think twice about facing him. It was a grin that would send shivers down the spine of even the most hardened killer, giving them second thoughts. This was the smile of a person who was going to be gaining revenge.

Because suddenly Harry Potter had remembered that his magic had returned. Not to its full power, and definitely not to its full potential, but it was there, thrumming through his veins. Calling to him. Beckoning him to use it. It was so long since he'd felt the warm embrace of magic that he spent a few more minutes pretending to be dead, just reveling in the familiarity of it. He let it dance a tango under his skin, let invisible sparks crackle and pop at his fingertips, let it fill him with fire, desire, and remind him that there was still something to live for, even if that something to live for was only a cold wanting for deadly revenge.

Now, his magic was back. Nothing was going to stand between him and his revenge against Skynet, for the torture, torment, pain and suffering he had been put through for an indescribable amount of time. He didn't know how long he was under the malevolent AI's control, he was never given the time. That didn't matter now. He was going to destroy Skynet, but before he did that he was going to make it suffer twice as long, twice as hard, for it to feel his agony, his pain.

Skynet was going to rue the day it made him the hybrid he had become.

Harry's bright eyes snapped open. The barrel of the shotgun was still aimed directly at his head. Harry's arm surged forward and grabbed the barrel, forcing it to the side. As much as he was augmented (a word that left a bitter taste on his tongue) his strength was still only equal to about half on a T-800 terminator. It didn't mean he couldn't try, though. He saw the terminator's finger move to pull the trigger again and ducked down. The bullet smashed into the closet door behind him, leaving a gaping hole.

"Don't do that." Harry didn't have time for pleasantries. "What are you on your way to do?" There was no answer, only a blank stare from the terminator, coupled with venomous glares from the Connor's.

"What makes you think I would answer you, fucker?" Sarah barked out, arm protectively curled around her son. "We should have gotten rid of you the second you turned up here." She grabbed a mean looking hammer and pointed it at Harry. Inwardly, he laughed. She really thought a hammer would be able to do anything?

Harry gave her a wry smile, completely ignoring the barrel of the shotgun aimed at his head. "But you can't get rid of me, can you?" He spat the next words, his tone filled with revulsion. "It's just how I was made." He stood up straighter and began to leave.

"What do you want?" The voice came from John Connor. Harry turned around, lips quirking. John's face was already bruising, the dark shadows of blue and black beginning to creep over his cheek. Harry couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. If he could even feel guilt anymore.

"What I want? There's no question about it. What I want more than anything is for Skynet to be destroyed. It made my life Hell and turned me into the monster I am today. I am going to make its life miserable, before ripping the circuits out piece by piece." He paused. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

John was beaming, ignoring his mother's harsh whispers at him to not talk to him. Harry didn't blame her. In a risky move, John stepped out in front of his mother, towards Harry, and said the two words that would inevitably change Harry's life for the better.

"Oh, yeah."

* * *

 _This is actually going to turn out as a pretty cool story, I reckon. Still have no idea where it is going, but I am beginning to put together some vague plans._

 _Sincerely,  
Mariadoria_


	5. Chapter 5

Harry sat in the back of the wood-paneled station wagon with Sarah Connor, who was making a point to ignore him. Against her better judgement, John had decided to bring Harry along with him on their journey to escape the T-1000 and Skynet. To be honest, Harry would have found a way to stay with them anyway, seeing as the three of them (including the strangely benevolent T-800) were his best bet a destroying Skynet.

He didn't care for them, not in the slightest. The only thing he cared about was finding and destroying Skynet. And if that included being in the presence of one of the things he hated the most, so be it.

Not wanting to waste time idly gazing out of the window at the rapidly passing arid desert, Harry decided to start seeing how his magic was limited. It was currently humming through his veins, crackling and snapping about. Harry surmised that soon the zinging under his skin would fade. The only reason he could feel it was because he'd been without it for such a long time. Just the feeling of it inside him was enough to make him high if he let it.

But that was something he couldn't afford to do. He needed to stay focussed, intent on his goal, not let distractions lead him on a tantalising trail away from what needed to be done. Skynet was going to be destroyed, that much was certain.

Now that his magic had (magically, the thought made Harry chuckle slightly) returned, it gave him another advantage against Skynet. The advantage wouldn't be any good if he just sat and didn't practice with it, though. It would take a while to get back into the swing of things, but once he was back into the familiar rhythm of magic, things would be very, very different.

It would be best to start with a simple spell. One of the simplest he knew. The 'Lumos' spell, that would provide light, even in the darkest of times. He found himself snorting at the phrase. It sounded like something that Dumbledore would say, not that it mattered now. Yes, the man was alive, parading around Hogwarts with his younger self...he was getting off track,

He raised his hand, waving it around in the same pattern as the wand. Nothing happened, except garnering a strange look from Sarah. He ignored her. So, it didn't work wordless. Just to be sure, he tried again. The same result, more strange looks.

" _Lumos._ " He waved his hand. For a second, nothing happened. Then, a dim, feeble ball of light appeared above his hands. Harry laughed in disbelief, a sound so foreign he had to check if it wasn't John laughing. "It worked. It actually worked."

"What worked?" John swiveled around in his seat, only to have his eyes bug out at the sight of the wispy ball of light floating above Harry's hands. He leaned closer, only to be cut off by Sarah's arm. She was so strong, so lithe and lean, that John didn't stand a chance. Petulantly, for there was no other way to describe it, he pulled back into his own seat, but still kept his eyes trained on Harry, ignoring his muttering mother. "What is that?"

"Magic."

"I'm being serious. Come on, what is it?" John raised an eyebrow, in what appeared to be an attempt at being...sassy? It didn't work. Harry sighed, he really didn't have time for this. But, they were in a car together. Getting along well with potential allies wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"I am being serious. I'm a wizard. Or rather, I used to be, before Skynet got a hold of me. Now, I don't know what I am."

"A wizard. You've got to be joking." If it was possible, John's eyebrow crept even further up his forehead, disappearing into his hairline.

"No, I'm not. Here, watch this." Harry closed his eyes, crossing his fingers that this would work. If he could get it to, things would get better. " _Expecto Patronum._ " His magic surged towards his fingers, etching to get out, but something stopped it. His fingers were a river, but his emotions were a dam, incapable to producing a patronus. No matter. He was far past being affected by those things. "Okay, that didn't work, let me try something else."

"You don't have to convince me, you know. I know that magic isn't real."

"Trust me, it is. Just give me a second." It only took a second, far shorter than he expected, to think of what he was going to show John. The spell was going to be performed on himself, so Sarah, who was currently, glowering at him but saying nothing, wouldn't go ballistic. "Okay, I've got it." Harry raised his hand, palm faced towards his head, and whispered the incantation for changing his appearance.

Instantly, he knew it had worked.

The feeling of his body changing was distinctly uncomfortable, always had been. Not as excruciating as the Polyjuice Potion, but nowhere near pleasant either. His eyes scrunched shut, and when it was done, he opened them, gazing out at the two startled Connor's in front of him.

"You look exactly like Mom!"

Harry grinned, the smile different and unfamiliar, at Sarah, whose eyes were beginning to spark with ideas. The cogs in her mind were clanking loud and fast. She stared at him for a second, before:

"You could have some use. This so called 'magic' could give us an advantage over the T-1000."

"Damn straight."

For the rest of the journey, Harry practiced his magic in relative silence, listening to the banter between John and the T-800, and answering the sparse questions Sarah had. Before he knew it, the car ride was over, and Harry was left with a strange feeling in his chest.

For the first time in a while, he'd partially enjoyed himself.

And wasn't that strange?

* * *

 _Sorry for delay in publishing, I've been really busy. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Woohoo. Things will pick up soon._

 _Sincerely,  
Mariadoria_


	6. Chapter 6

After arriving at Enrique's, Sarah pulled Harry aside. Her eyes gleamed, calculating all of the ways that she could use him to their advantage. Harry knew that to her he was nothing more than an incredibly valuable asset. He would aid them on their quest to destroy Skynet. After that, he honestly wasn't sure what was going to happen to him. Maybe he would go and find his childhood self and stop the collection of the Deathly Hallows, those goddamn Hallows that started the downward descent of his life. Those thoughts could wait, though. Right now, he was focusing on destroying Skynet. And he was going to be sure to use every dirty trick he knew.

"This...magic you have, what else can you do. Show me something that no Terminator would be able to do." She said the word magic with extreme disbelief. She was clearly forcing herself to believe it in, even if Harry knew she didn't. In hindsight, it wasn't a wise choice to use a glamour to illustrate what he could do with his magic. The skill, though useful, was exactly what the T-1000 could do. The instant he did it, Harry knew he would have to do far more to show that he was trustworthy, even though he didn't trust anyone anymore. He didn't have time for trust.

"What sort of thing are you imagining?" Harry stood, stepping over the bench where he was sitting. "I can do a lot of things, though I'm not sure what my limits are, seeing as I don't have my wand. It's been a long time since I have performed magic, actually sat down and done it, I mean."

"Why's that?"

Harry smirked ruefully. "Didn't I tell you? Skynet stripped my magic from me and tried to use it as a power source. It failed of course. Now it's returned, and I'm going to be taking countermeasures against it, trust me. I don't ever want to be left without it again. It feels empty. A core part of you has been stripped away…" He trailed off at Sarah's scowl. Right. She didn't care about his problems. He was a machine to her, a terminator worth nothing more than the protection he could provide. The thought made him shudder in revulsion at what he had become. "What were you wanting to see?"

"Disguises. Defence. Anything you can use against that liquid metal monstrosity chasing us."

"Well, if you want a disguise, I've got you covered. Disillusionment charms, notice-me-not, glamours. I've got an arsenal bigger than what you've got under this desert." He glanced over to where the T-800 and John were climbing down into a weapons bunker. From what he'd heard, Sarah Connor was one of the most prepared individuals in the history of everything. It was certainly something different to see it in person, though. "How about I show you a disillusionment charm? Those are always fun. In a good way, a good way!"

He held his hands up as Sarah took a dangerous step closer to him. Alright, so he was going to have to watch what he said. He could do that, especially if it meant gaining Sarah's trust. That was his main concern right now. His second concern, one that he had barely voiced, was how his magic was going to perform. Sure, when he'd practised in the car, it went relatively well. Those were small spells, though. A disillusionment charm was decidedly larger and required more effort from the caster.

"I can't do it on myself, so is there anyone here I can do it on?"

"Not John or I."

"I already assumed that. I wasn't even going to ask."

"So you can learn. Good."

"I used to be human, you know. I've still got a fucking brain."

"That doesn't make you human, you of all people should know that."

"I'll do it on the T-800 over there, then. Happy now?" He glared at her. She held his gaze, never letting go. "And you can stop treating me like I'm going to stab you the second you turn your back. If I wanted to do that, you would be dead already."

"Fine." She called the T-800 over. Soon, it was standing in front of them, an expectant look on its face. To Harry, it was extremely unsettling to see emotion, human emotion, on the face of a killing machine. Underneath, it was metal. Yet on the surface, it passed as human. Even to him, it was uncanny. He shivered it away, instead deciding to focus on bringing his fizzing magic to the tip of his fingers.

With a whisper, he tapped the T-800's head (after jumping a considerable height). It only took a second for the spell to take effect. The T-800's skin began to ripple, becoming reflective, mirroring the environment around it. Eventually, the only clue that it was even there was the faint outline.

"This feels strange."

"What, the data?"

"Yes. The data."

Sarah turned to Harry, ignoring the T-800. "Show me everything."

* * *

When Sarah fell asleep at the table, Harry couldn't help but creep over. Carved into the splintering wood were the words, 'No Fate' in all capitals, the knife used to gouge them embedded next to it. Her fingers were twitching, eyes moving rapidly beneath her eyeballs. Something was going on in her head. Now that his morals were murky at best, he had no qualms taking a quick glance at whatever she was dreaming.

When he saw the children burning, crumbling apart like leaves, his heart dropped and bile rose in his throat. Drawing back out of the dream, Harry looked down at Sarah's twitching figure. He was flooded with a newfound respect for the woman. If that was what she saw every time she closed her eyes...

Maybe they had more in common than he thought.

* * *

 _New update. It's been a while, hasn't it? From now on, updates should come every two weeks. I hope that is good for you guys. These chapters are nice and quick to write, which is a nice break from the longer stuff I am writing._

 _See you all soon for the next chapter._

 _Sincerely,  
Mariadoria_


	7. Chapter 7

Harry was sitting down in Enrique's skeleton of a helicopter when he saw Sarah drive off in the battered, wood-paneled car. He shot up, sprinting forward through the dust clouds that the tires of the car flung up. He barely caught up with it, gripping onto a door handle. Sarah looked to the side, out of her sunglasses, barely acknowledging his presence. She didn't stop, only pressed down harder on the accelerator.

Harry groaned, not letting go of the handle. He wasn't going to let her win. It was clear (to him at least) that whatever she was doing was to do with the demise of Skynet. He needed in. That was why he was here. He couldn't let Sarah have all the fun now, could he? Still, he began to lose his patience when Sarah leaned over and pressed down the lock of the door. It would be very hard to have fun when he was practically a ragdoll on the side of the car, being battered and bruised. Sure, the scuffed off skin would grow but, but it fucking hurt.

"Open the goddamn door, Sarah!" he spluttered, choking on the dust that flew into his mouth. "I can't stay out here!" There was no reply.

Stoic as ever, Sarah continued you stare straight ahead. Calm, detached, set in her mission. Harry pulled himself up and peered into the back of the station wagon. An assault rifle, two full magazines of ammo and a pistol. Couple that with the dark, tactical clothes she was wearing, and it wasn't that difficult to deduce she was on her way to kill someone. Who could it be?

The cries of John faded into nothing. Harry growled in frustration. This was not an ideal way to travel, not in the slightest.

Time to do something about it.

He removed one hand from the handle and gripped onto the back door, the one he knew wasn't locked. With a few more fancy acrobatics aided by his now increased strength, Harry pried the back door open and jumped into the car, slamming it shut behind him.

"That wasn't very nice, you know," he huffed.

Sarah didn't even look back. "You're still alive."

"So I am, but that doesn't mean being dragged along a road is painless." He clambered into the front seat, gesturing to his ruined knees. Bits of bone and metal were showing, sinew hanging out, sharp stones embedded in the flesh. "Yeah, my skin grows back, but it fucking hurts."

"You'll live."

"Well, thanks for the sentiment," Harry spat. "Who are you going to kill, anyway?"

She scoffed. "Hasn't your terminator side figured that out yet?"

"Believe it or not, I have a brain. That does all of my thinking."

Sarah sighed. "Miles Dyson, the inventor of Skynet."

Harry's thoughts stopped. _Of course._ How did he miss that? Of course, it would be Miles Dyson. Without him, Skynet would have a far more difficult time getting off the ground. They would still need to destroy the records at Cyberdyne, though.

"Good. With him out of the picture, Skynet will have a harder time coming online." She gave him a questioning look. "We will also need to destroy all the records that have anything to do with Skynet. Physical, digital, any person who has been told about it. No one can know. And if that means we have to kill some people…" he trailed off.

"So be it," finished Sarah. "Maybe you are some use to me after all. I'm still going to kill you when all of this is over, though."

"No, you're not. First of all, when all of this is over, when Skynet is dead, I'm going to go and live my own life." Sarah inhaled sharply at the words. "Second, you would have a lot of difficulties doing that, seeing as I can't actually die. It's miserable, don't ever try is, zero out of ten would recommend."

"So what is actually going on with you not being able to die."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine."

They fell into a tense silence. Slowly, the arid desert gave way to a cityscape, luxurious suburbs that only the rich and famous could afford. The closer they got to his house, the more Harry was itching to get his hands on one of the guns in the backseat. Years ago, he wouldn't have even considered killing someone. Now, to get revenge on Skynet, Harry would do anything. He was far beyond hesitating. The times where he had mercy, where he possessed even an inkling of humanity, were long gone.

They pulled up on the road, down the road from the Dyson household. Sarah donned a cap, strapped the guns to her body and began the trek to the back of his property, to find a perfect vantage point from which to shoot him. Harry followed along, casting a discreet 'never miss a target' spell on Sarah. The spells from his old home certainly weren't creatively named.

"Here," whispered Harry. They were behind the pool with a perfect, unobstructed view into Dyson's office. Sarah set up the rifle, lining it up, putting her eye on the scope. Harry watched the man, watched Sarah, waited in anticipation.

Sarah took a deep breath, then took the shot. It whizzed through the air, shattering the glass, landing straight in the target's head. He fell with an agonized cry, dead before he hit the ground.

The first step to defeating Skynet was complete.

* * *

 _Sorry for the delay in updating. Been a bit involved with my other story, which just passed one hundred thousand words. Hope you enjoyed this, things are beginning to change a bit. They were never going to stay the same anyway._

 _Sincerely  
Mariadoria_


End file.
